EUREKA &GT;&GT; In Paul Peeples Jr.'s first race at Redwood Acres Raceway, he crashed his mini-stock car and had to get a CT scan at the hospital.

That was in 1990.

Nowadays, Peeples Jr. makes racing look easy.

Over the years, he's had a lot of success on the track.

He's raced motorcycles, mini-stocks, sportsman cars and thunder roadsters. He's won multiple championships at Redwood Acres, he won the Sun Belt Region in the sportsman class and has traveled the country racing a south west tour car.

Since 2006, Peeples Jr. has raced in the thunder roadster division.

He's won three championships out of the four years he's raced a full season.

So what's been the secret to his success?

"I do a lot of testing. And I try different things constantly and try find ways to get faster," Peeples Jr. said. "I think a big part of my success, comes from years of racing prior to it. Understanding the feel of a car and what it's doing is huge. If you cant give feedback, you don't know how to fix the car. That's a huge part for me that I think is an advantage."

The 55-year-old, McKinleyville native also has another advantage: He grew up around the Acres.

His father, Paul Peeples, competed in the first-ever race at Redwood Acres.

"Back in the 50s when my dad raced, they had hardtops," Peeples Jr. said. "Everybody in town basically raced back then."

"Yeah, it's neat," Peeples Jr. added when asked about winning championships on the same track his father raced on. "I guess racing is somewhat in my blood."

The Betty Boop decal that lays on the front of Peeples Jr.'s No. 15 thunder roadster was his dad's idea.

"My dad loves (racing)," Peeples Jr. said. "It's what we do."

As of the last set of races on June 7, Peeples Jr. narrowly leads David Henderson and the thunder roadster class in points.

Henderson and Peeples Jr. have been battling for the No. 1 and No. 2 position all season.

Just as Peeples Jr. has won three championships, so has Henderson.

"Dave is my main competitor," Peeples Jr. said. "I've been pretty fortunate this year. I have been getting some breaks early to get in front. He's always right behind me. And when it's the other way around, I'm right behind him. We have good competition."

Both Peeples Jr., Henderson and other thunder roadster competitors plan to travel to Bakersfield in August for nationals.

Peeples Jr. said he wanted to make one last run at a national championship.

And one more chance to feed his competitive nature.

"It's the thrill of setting your car up and trying different things, and going out on the track seeing if it works. And I've always been competitive my entire life. Whether I played football, or baseball, or racing motorcycles, its just a competitive nature that I have. This is just another way to fulfill that. I'm not going to be playing football at 55," he said with a smile.